Good cooler for I7-920 OC

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  1. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
       #1

    Good cooler for I7-920 OC


    I have 5 PCs with GA-EX58-UD3R mobo's, I7-920 CPU's and Corsair Dominator DDR3 RAM (Either 4 x 1gb or 3x2gb).

    The PCs idle at 58 degrees celcius with MCH temps around the same when the ambient temperature outside the case is 30 degrees celcius. Under load, at the same ambient temperature the PCs run at 72-78 degrees celcius.

    The CPU's are running stock coolers with 2 case fans (80mm side fan + 120mm rear fan). One of the PCs has a Noctua NH12P - which disappointingly appears to make not a single degree of difference to the temperatures.

    The PSU's are 700w Coolermaster's I believe.

    The PCs are running Gigabyte GTX460OC 1GB PCIe cards.

    They have 1 HDD and a DVD Drive each, except for mine which has 2 x DVD + 1 x Blu-Ray player + 1 HDD.

    I want to cool the CPUs enough to overclock. They are 2.66ghz stock. I'd like to push them to 3.0ghz to start. I believe they can go to 4.0ghz, but I'd be concerned I'm really shortening the CPU's life at that speed.

    So the question is, given that there is not alot of space in the case (The NH12P is 120mm x 120mm x 145mm IIRC and it only just fits) - what is a good cooler that might lower the temps by 10 degrees or better, or if that is not achievable, what sort of reduction might I be looking at?

    I'd prefer to keep the cost to around $80 per cooler, but not more than $100 each AUD if can't keep it under $80.

    Any advice is greatly appreciated.

    thanks
    Tanya
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 53,363
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #2

    There are so many, these will all suit your needs:

    Corsair H70

    Corsair H50

    Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B

    Noctua NH-U12P SE2

    I'm sure you'll get other suggestions, and thoughts on these. Google the name of the cooler, and reviews (EX: Corsair H70 Reviews) and look for Tom's Hardware, Overclockers Club, Frostytech, etc. for good test reviews.

    A Guy

    P.S. US to AUD is about 1:1 now a days :)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    A Guy said:
    There are so many, these will all suit your needs:

    Corsair H70

    Corsair H50

    Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B

    Noctua NH-U12P SE2

    I'm sure you'll get other suggestions, and thoughts on these. Google the name of the cooler, and reviews (EX: Corsair H70 Reviews) and look for Tom's Hardware, Overclockers Club, Frostytech, etc. for good test reviews.

    :)
    Thanks A Guy.

    The Noctua one is the one I already have, and it appears to do nothing.

    The review of the H70 seems to suggest that the Noctua NH-D14 is the better way to go, according to Overclock3D :: Review :: Corsair H70 Review :: Testing

    However, looking at the NH-D14 it won't fit inside my cases, nor will the ProlimaTech Megahalems, and here I thought I'd bought big cases :-(

    The Corsair H70 appears to retail for around A$160, which is not encouraging, since to get a quieter solution that fits inside my case (since reviews say that the H70 is loud compared with many others), with as good as or better performance I'll be looking at more than $160 each.

    The pricing on the megahalems is similar. At $70-$90 for two fans, the price is slightly higher than the H70.

    So is my expectation of spending under $100 per cooler unrealistic?

    I'm wondering now if I have installed my Noctua properly. I have set the two fans in a push-pull arrangement with air flowing towards the PSU, since the PSU has a fan at it's base which I believe pulls air from the inside of the case ... is this the correct way to install it?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 53,363
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #4

    Your 58c idle temp is excessive. My i5 750 idles at 26-30 with the Coolermaster Hyper 212+. The 4 I listed are all better rated than my cooler, although I don't need more. I'd be concerned in correct mounting of the Noctua and the application of the thermal paste. Are your ambient temps exceedingly high? A Guy
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    A Guy said:
    Your 58c idle temp is excessive. My i5 750 idles at 26-30 with the Coolermaster Hyper 212+. The 4 I listed are all better rated than my cooler, although I don't need more. I'd be concerned in correct mounting of the Noctua and the application of the thermal paste. Are your ambient temps exceedingly high? A Guy
    I don't believe so. The cooling in the house is not that good. When it is 35 degrees outside, it climbs to 30 degrees inside the house.

    The current ambient temp is 25 degrees celcius @ 8:30pm. The idle temp of my PC with Noctua NH-U12P is 51 degrees celcius.

    Yesterday it was 32.8 degrees celcius outside. It was 29 degress inside. My idle temp was 57 degrees. I played Simcity 3000 and after 5 mins the CPU temp was 73 degrees.

    I pulled apart one of the computers. I could fit the megahalems in the case if I oriented it front to back, not top to bottom (That is pull from front of case and push to rear of case or the other way around). The clearance between RAM and northbridge is only 120mm, and since the length is 130mm it won't fit in the current orientation of my Noctua (top-bottom). - But is that an acceptable approach?

    Dominator RAM is quite high (with the heat fins on top), so the bottom of the Megahalems fins are lower than the top of the RAM so it doesn't fit.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Just reading on a few other forums, the concensus seems to be to blow the air out the back, not through the PSU, so I'm going to turn of this system and turn the HS around and see what happens.

    If there are no improvements I'd still like additional advices from the gurus here
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 12,364
    8 Pro x64
       #7

    Tanyam said:
    One of the PCs has a Noctua NH12P - which disappointingly appears to make not a single degree of difference to the temperatures.
    The Noctua one is the one I already have, and it appears to do nothing.
    Whilst not as effective as the newer models - it's still no slouch. Is it in a single fan, or a dual push/pull config?

    A push/pull will help knock a few degrees off the top,.


    I want to cool the CPUs enough to overclock. They are 2.66ghz stock. I'd like to push them to 3.0ghz to start. I believe they can go to 4.0ghz, but I'd be concerned I'm really shortening the CPU's life at that speed.
    What paste (the supplied Noctua NHT-1 paste) / method did you use when installing? (assuming you used the 1366 socket kit)

    Too much / insufficient / badly applied thermal paste will result in poor temps at idle/high loads.


    That Noctua with a push/pull config will net you 4.0ghz . Obviously our high Aussie summer temps don't help - but it's still achievable without CPU life shortening.




    Exhaust as much as possible. Depending on case, orientation will have an impact.


    Exhaust from rear Cooler orientation out back - exhaust fans in top / vertical 'up and out' is the way to go.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #8

    smarteyeball said:
    Tanyam said:
    One of the PCs has a Noctua NH12P - which disappointingly appears to make not a single degree of difference to the temperatures.
    The Noctua one is the one I already have, and it appears to do nothing.
    Whilst not as effective as the newer models - it's still no slouch. Is it in a single fan, or a dual push/pull config?

    A push/pull will help knock a few degrees off the top,.

    I want to cool the CPUs enough to overclock. They are 2.66ghz stock. I'd like to push them to 3.0ghz to start. I believe they can go to 4.0ghz, but I'd be concerned I'm really shortening the CPU's life at that speed.
    What paste (the supplied Noctua NHT-1 paste) / method did you use when installing? (assuming you used the 1366 socket kit)

    Too much / insufficient / badly applied thermal paste will result in poor temps at idle/high loads.

    That Noctua with a push/pull config will net you 4.0ghz . Obviously our high Aussie summer temps don't help - but it's still achievable without CPU life shortening.

    Exhaust as much as possible. Depending on case, orientation will have an impact.

    Exhaust from rear Cooler orientation out back - exhaust fans in top / vertical 'up and out' is the way to go.
    Thanks for your reply.

    Ok, I've changed the orientation of the noctua to pull from from of PC, push to rear, with a rear 120mm case fan pushing out as well. On the side, at the bottom, I have an 80mm fan pusing air into the case (this was as before). There are two fans on the HS.

    I cleaned the CPU and HS and reapplied the Arctic silver thermal paste; a small dob in the centre of the CPU. No bleeding out the sides.

    Running stock 2.66ghz the CPU temperature, according to coretemp is 50 degrees celcius. 1 degress cooler than before, but then the ambient room temperature has dropped from 25 to 23 degrees too.

    Yes, I used the 1366 kit to install.

    I think I'm still going to be looking for a better cooler. When we get back to 35 degree days, my idle temp is going to run around 58 - 60 degrees even after changing the fans/HS around.

    thanks
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #9

    Mmm...OK, Im suprised by this. I have the same Noctua cooler in the same arrangement venting air up towards a large exhaust fan at the top of my Thermaltake Element S.

    At idle, my CPU is no more than 32 degrees celcius, even though it touches 34 outside, 30 inside. Is there any chance of fitting an additional/improved intake fan at the front of the case? Perhaps the existing fan cannot pull enough fresh air into the case?

    Blue arrows = intake (+ large intake on removed side panel)
    Red arrows = exhaust

    Regards,
    Golden
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Good cooler for I7-920 OC-p1010135.jpg  
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 784
    Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Golden said:
    Mmm...OK, Im suprised by this. I have the same Noctua cooler in the same arrangement venting air up towards a large exhaust fan at the top of my Thermaltake Element S.

    Regards,
    Golden
    Your picture is the way I had it before. I now have the HS and fans pulling from the front and pushing out the back. Before, it was pushing air out into the PSU, which is at the top of my case, not the bottom.

    I dont think there is a fan on the front of the case atm. There is a spot for one, I'd have to find a new home for my HDD but I guess I could squeeze one in there.
      My Computer


 
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